1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for processing documents. More specifically, the present invention is specifically related to the process for locating a particular field on a document, such as the amount field which appears in a location which varies from one type of check to the next, but which is identifiable by predetermined algorithms.
2. Background Art
Various document processors (also referred to as "reader/sorters" or "check readers" by some) have been marketed by various manufacturers. Some of these document processors include apparatus and methods for lifting either the entire image of the document as it passes or a selected portion of the document. For example, IBM marketed a machine known as the IBM Model 3895 in the 1970's which processed documents including apparatus and methods to locate and store an image window including the field known as the courtesy amount or the amount field.
Other systems have been proposed which use an image of the document or portions of it in an attempt to either recognize the amount or present it on a screen so that an operator can key enter into memory the amount on the document. Examples of such systems include U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,808 to Owens et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,780 to Burns et al.; and U.S. Pat. 4,813,077 to Woods et al.
In each of these systems, it is important that the amount field be located accurately. In some systems such as described in the Woods et al. patent, the amount field must be located in a predetermined location and within predetermined boxes in order that the system can accurately locate both the amount fields and the individual characters within the amount field. Other systems have been proposed which also constrain or require that the amount field be placed in a particular orientation. However, a bank which is processing all the checks that its customers choose to deposit cannot require that all checks be prepared in a predetermined or fixed format. That is, there are a plurality of different check formats, and the amount field is not located in a consistent position from one format to the next. Some of these are dictated by the data processing equipment which is used, others are dictated by the blank form format, for instance in a system where the payee and the amount are on a single carbonized line.
Another system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,211 to E. B. Greene. This system identifies the location of the amount field (or another field of interest) with a fluorescent or phosphorescent ink, which allows only a field of interest to be read.
U. S. Pat. No. 4,493,108 to Fryer et al. describes a video image field cut technique for dynamically segmenting an image, extracting fields of interest.
Despite where the amount field is positioned on the check it is desirable to locate the amount field accurately and to place a small window around that amount field to allow the amount field and only the amount field to be displayed to an operator for verification or keying. This minimizes the amount of information which is forwarded and yet allows the entire amount field to be processed.
Accordingly, it is desirable that the amount field (and only the amount field) be accurately located and partitioned into a separate window for further processing. The prior art does not specifically locate this amount field and allow its processing across the plurality of types of documents which may be presented to a financial institution.